The Dawn Child
by ChinaDollMaiden
Summary: Pein is on a mission to wipe out the Haruno Clan, but their newest child has just been born, and he raises her himself. But when circumstances force him to give her up to Konoha, will he ever get her back? AkaSaku.


**Well, I've been wanting to make this story for a while now. I was afraid it would leave my brain forever if I didn't.**

**So basically, it's about how Sakura lives with the Akatsuki until she's five, then something happens, which forces them to give her up to Konoha. Trust me, they will NOT be happy about it.**

**And just so you know, None of the 'Ways to Annoy...' things have happened in this story. Those are completely different stories.**

**And the relationship between Konan and Sakura at first will be...weird, but it'll get better.**

**So...enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: ME NO OWN NARU-CHAN!! He belongs to MasaKishi.  
**

* * *

For the longest time, Sakura knew nothing of her birth parents. She knew she was adopted, the men she lived with were far from relatives. But they treated her like one.

They had always told her the cliche story of being left in a bread basket on a cold March night. No note, no name. She had accepted the fact that that may be all she would ever know. None of them wanted to tell her the truth. They feared their most precious person would despise them.

But soon, the ugly truth would reveal itself...wether they like it or not.

This is the story of Akatsuki no Sakura.

~*~

Pein was racing through the corridors of the Haruno compound, his blood stained katana dripping on the tatami mat floor. His mission: Kill all Haruno Clan members.

The Haruno clan was once in league with the Akatsuki, but they left without a word, and began to spread precious Akatsuki secrets. Once the Akatsuki heard they had leaked information, they were immediately on their trail.

The Haruno compound was located in a secluded, private section of Kusagakure, away from the other civilians. The Haruno Clan was a very suspicious, secretive clan. They kept to themselves, but when they did come in contact with clan outsiders, they usually didn't travel alone, and whispered to their companion while casting eerie glances at their target.

His partner was already dealing with those they told.

He only had about five targets left. Gorou and Atsuko Haruno, and their three children Kirie, Kimiko and Daichi. He sensed five chakra signals in the room ahead, behind brilliant scarlet doors.

Pein peeked through the doors, slightly cracked open, and saw what he definitely didn't expect. There lie a very pregnant Atsuko Haruno, her legs spread wide and Gorou, who was a trained doctor, with his hands between her legs to catch the baby. The sweat dripped heavily from her large brow and her lip was swollen and split where she'd bitten down. Her arms trembled violently with the pain and she gave a mighty cry.

Within seconds, thin wailing echoed through the halls and the baby was born. Gorou took out a pair of thick scissors and cut the umbilical cord. Everyone in the room sighed with relief as the mother smiled and reached for the baby. She held it with such tenderness, gently stroking the baby's soft skin. Their guard was down, and Pein took the chance.

He burst into the room, expertly swinging his katana so it sang with the vibrations of the passing air. He wasted no time in cutting down the three children as the parents struggled to stifle their sobs. He ran his sword through Gorou's chest, and stared at Atsuko with the blood sprapying his face. Atsuko was cowering, shielding her newborn with everything, anything she could find. She looked up at the fierce man, and his glare increased, and he cut her throat open.

The blood sprayed over the room, staining the white walls towering over them. It covered the screaming baby, and Pein turned his attention to it. He gingerly picked it up, having never handled children before. It was a girl, he thought, and little wisps of pink hair were unstained by the blood. It had stopped crying when Pein picked her up, and surprisingly reached out for him. Newborn babies normally weren't even able to turn their own heads, let alone lift their arms.

This baby was strong.

He also sensed a strong wave of chakra emitting from her. It came off in waves, washing over him like water. Soothing, cool. This girl would be good with genjutsu and chakra control.

You could tell what type of techniques a person would be atuned to as soon as after birth. Their chakra would give off slight signals. If strong, like the girl's, the child would be atuned to genjutsu. If moderate, ninjutsu would be their specialty. If a weaker signal was given, it could mean one of two things. One, you would be a taijutsu specialist. Two, there was something wrong with your chakra system, and you would be too weak to do anything, let alone taijutsu.

Since her chakra was strong, she would make a good kunoichi.

But that didn't matter, she was a Haruno, and he had to kill her. He placed her back on the ground, and gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands. The girl merely stared in wonder. He faltered. Such innocent eyes didn't deserve a fate so cruel. And so young, she never even had a chance to live. The girl's emerald globes gleamed in the moonlight, turning them to an almost gold shade. In the darkness, she smiled.

That was it. Pein couldn't kill her.

He picked her up again, and found a clean rag on the ground, with which he wiped the blood off her. He wrapped her in his cloak, revealing the fishnet he wore underneath.

He would raise her as his own, and train her as a kunoichi when she was ready. She would train under the others as well.

All that was left to decide was a name.

He began to wonder how mothers could decide names so quickly after birth. It was difficult, to say the least. She was different. Should he name her Atsuko? No, it would just be a painful reminder that he was responsible for her parent's deaths.

Or maybe Akemi? No, the name 'beautiful child' was fitting, yet wrong for her. She would be a strong kunoichi, not a hooker.

Just as he was beginning to lose all hope in finding her a suitable name, a strong gust of wind blew outside, sweeping in delicate cherry blossom petals. A few landed in her sweet rosy curls, almost blending.

Yes, a suitable name indeed. Sakura blossoms were rare beauties, and extremely cherished. She would also contradict her name. Sakura blossoms were a rather weak flower, only lasting a month or two, then wilting with the summer. She would be strong for years to come, and prosper all year.

"Sakura."

Yes, her name would be Sakura.

~*~

Pein was on his way to meet with his partner at the rendevous, holding the shivering baby in his arms. He had wrapped her in his cloak to keep her warm, but it seemed to have no effect. What could make this child so cold confused him, since his cloak was extremely warm. Sakura began squirming, whining a bit in her sleep, but she soon settled down and fell back asleep.

Soon enough, he was there, his partner already waiting. When she caught sight of the bundle in his arms, she stood abruptly and fished through the crumpled cloak and found a round, sleeping face.

"Pein, what the hell is that?" she said warily.

"It's a baby, Konan."

"I knew that!" she hissed, losing her temper. "She wouldn't happen to be a Haruno child, would she...?"

Pein just nodded, sending Konan's temper soaring.

"Pein, you were supposed to kill them ALL!!" she shouted in his face. "And now you come to me with their damn baby!?"

Konan's screaming woke Sakura, and she squirmed again and began to cry. Pein tried to hush her, but failed. Konan sighed exasperatedly, snatching Sakura from him.

"She's hungry, Pein. Give her to me."

Pein, being a gentleman, turned away as Konan unbuttoned her shirt to expose a breast.

After Sakura had been fed, her face softened the slightest bit, and Pein was relieved by this. But Konan's face was sorrowful.

"Pein..." she whispered. "...you know she won't be able to replace him..."

Pein was painfully reminded of the loss of their first child to a terrible illness, and his heart sunk.

"I'm not trying to replace him, Konan." he murmured.

The world was silent, the wind making soft swooshing noises in the tall Kusa Country grass. The distant croaking of frogs and the chirp of crickets created a natural symphony.

Pein truly hoped Konan would learn to accept Sakura. In the short three hours Sakura had been alive, he had already grown fond of her. She would giggle and coo at him as if he were her real father. He couldn't bear to part with her, let alone kill her now.

Konan was very skeptical. She had always told herself she never liked children, but that opinion tends to change when you have a child of your own. She had loved her son immensely, and he was just like his father. But the strange, undiagnosable illness soon took hold of him, and just like that, they lost their first child.

She had cooped herself up in her room for days, not coming out to eat or bathe. Pein tried his hardest to get her to eat, but she refused. He gently reminded her he was as torn about it as she was, but she snapped at him. The relationship between a parent and a child is different when you're the mother.

But Konan was breaking inside. She didn't want to keep this baby, but she didn't want to see it suffer because of her selfishness.

"Please, Konan. She has no where to go." Pein begged, getting down on his knees. A rare sight, indeed.

Konan looked at the baby, then at her lover's pleading face.

That did it.

Konan gave in, sighing.

"Fine."

Pein rocketed off his knees, locking her in a tight embrace. He carefully avoided crushing the now adopted Sakura, who Konan had shoved into his arms as she took the lead. He had gotten Konan to accept her.

Now, if only he could get the other members to, everything would be perfect.

~*~

They had just barely made it past the Kusa nin guarding the border. They already heard word of Ame nin wiping out their most precious clan, and held a deep grudge against their neighboring country. Sakura threatened to wail about halfway through their exiting, but Konan hushed her.

Soon, they were only a few miles away from their base. They had to stop and tend to Sakura a few times, but it was to be expected. Not a big deal in the least. But it did end up taking longer than they'd both expected to get home.

In the base, Pein had contacted every member through their rings and told them to abandon current mission and relocate to the base.

"Sasori no Danna, do you feel that?" a thin, sculpted man with long blonde hair, a fringe of bangs covering one eye and the rest in a high topknot, whispered in his partner's ear.

"Yes, I do." the man, called Sasori, whispered back to his partner, Deidara. Sasori's short, scarlet hair contrasted with Deidara's saffron, and sand-golden eyes met pale sky blue.

A man with deep navy hair that stood on end spoke up next, his blue-skinned cheeks stretching in a wide grin and showing off his sharp white teeth.

"I feel it was well. Itachi?"

The tall man with long raven hair tied back in a low ponytail said not a single word, but they all knew he could feel it.

"It's a chakra signal. It feels **delicious**."

A rather tall man, his skin color split in two. His left half was white, and the right was black. A large green carapace, shaped much like a venus fly trap, rested on his shoulders. His hair was a grassy green, and his bright yellow eyes gleamed in the dark. His darker side had finished his sentence for him.

"Oi, Kakuzu! You fuckin' feel that like I do?"

A shorter man with rich tan skin and contrasting silver hair yelled at his much despised partner, Kakuzu. His purple eyes bore holes into Kakuzu's brown skin, but the money obsessed man showed no fear.

"What am I supposed to be feeling? I was busy counting my-oh." he cut himself off when he, too, felt that smaller chakra signal.

"Jeez, Kakuzu. And you call yourself a fuckin' shinobi."

"Tobi feels it too!! Tobi does!"

Self acclaimed Tobi raised his hand as if he were in school. Deidara slapped him on the back of the head, scolding him for not being as serious as he should be.

So they waited. The signal was still a ways off, so they had time to talk about it.

But Pein wanted to get to the base as soon as possible, and he picked up the pace. Sakura didn't like being soaked with icy rain, and though he did his best to keep her covered under his cloak, it soaked through to the newborn.

Konan refused to look at Sakura. It must be painful, after all, their first born son had just died not even three months ago, to see another beautiful baby in front of you, who isn't even _your_ child, completely healthy. It was almost _taunting_ her.

However, Pein knew Konan like the back of his hand. She would go into denial, refusing every bit of the problem with her whole being. Then, she would grudgingly come to accept the circumstances. And then, finally, she would actually begin to _enjoy_ it.

He just hoped it would be soon, because Sakura needed a mother.

~*~

Itachi could feel the tiny signal getting closer, and by the time it was estimated to be about sixty miles away, the Uchiha could tell.

"It's a baby." he said blankly to the others.

"Tobi looooves babies!!!" Tobi cried, jumping from his seat and throwing both hands in the air. Deidara scowled at his hyperactive former partner. He was terrible with children, and they all stayed as far from his as they could manage. Kisame had the same thoughts running through his mind.

Sasori couldn't care less. As long as he didn't have to change any diapers, he would be fine. Hidan groaned about baby drool and other such things, while his partner just sat hoping he wouldn't have to pay for anything.

Itachi was used to small children, having a brother seven years younger than himself.

And Zetsu...let's just say, Zetsu _eats_ babies.

They could all feel Pein's chakra rapidly approaching, and with that final word, he was walking through the base entrance, with the predicted bundle in his arms. Tobi was about to stand up to see, but the look on Konan and Pein's face told him he should do otherwise. He sat back down, slowly, and twiddled his thumbs.

Pein ignored the other members and walked to his deceased son's room. It was painted a soft white color, with no childish decoration, with a small white crib adjacent to the open window. He closed the window, drawing the dripping curtains closed. He lovingly placed Sakura in the crib, pulling the soft white blanket over her, and Sakura soon fell asleep.

* * *

**Well, there you go. I swear, this is the last one.**

**And just be thankful, I was just caught writing this instead of doing schoolwork like I should have been, and I got in trouble. All for you guys.**

**Stupid teacher doesn't understand that this type of thing improves my grammar and spelling.**

**Whatever.**

**I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Until next time!**

**~China**


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